Is Trading In Used Consoles Worth It?

DataportJunkie writes "Most people choose to trade in their used game consoles when a newer one comes out to save a few bucks, but this editorial at Gaming Horizon suggests that you just hang onto them. 'Stores typically only make $1 or $2 when you pick up a new console from them, but when they give you $70 for your used PlayStation 2 and sell it for $95, they just made themselves an easy $25.' The author recommends using eBay or donating your used consoles to hospitals if you need to get rid of a system."

Comments

WTF are you smoking?

[Linus Torvaalds]

If somebody gives you $70 for something you don't use anymore, then that deal is worth $70 to you. It doesn't matter whether that person goes on to make $5 or $25 when they sell it on, the bottom line is you just made $70.

Spite?

[BlackCobra43]

So I should hang on to my consoles to spite the retailers? Come on, if my consoles are gathering dust and I can easily get a few bucks for them it's perfect - I don't feel like hunting down a buyer or organizing an ebay auctions with all the shipping and payment worries it entails. What's wrong with that?

Wait a second

[Snowspinner]

So because the store will make money if I sell them my system, I should not sell them my system?

Because...

Ummm...

I want my local video game store to go out of business?

The plan, Slashdot-style

[SolarCanine]

1. Keep older console
2. Taunt game store owner
3. Track market for dust
4. ...
5. PREVENT profit!

Hm, this doesn't feel like it usually does...there's a problem here somewhere...

Good reasons to keep old consoles

[alvinrod]

There are plenty of good reasons to keep old consoles.

First, when you get a next generation console, it might not be able to play the games from the previous generation (e.g. Super Nintendo, Nintendo 64, and possible the Xbox 360).

Additionally, some (like the PS3 is rumored to be) will not accept the memory storage devices from previous generations. Keep that PS2 around for PS2 games you've sunk a lot of time into but haven't finished.

Also, old games can be a lot of fun again after you haven't played them in years. I have a blast playing football (Tecmo Super Bowl) against my friends on SNES. The 2D platformers on the system are awesome as well.

Old games and systems can be worth a lot of money after a long time. I have in my possesion a copy of Chrono Trigger for SNES that I managed to find in a pawn shop for $5. I've seen the game for ten times that on Ebay. I wonder how much a pong machine or other really old hardware would fetch.

You can let your young children play the games. Granted that children are pretty sophisticated nowdays, but at young ages a simple NES controller and game will be easiest for them. I'm guessing a four or five year old can handle Mario better than Marion Sunshine.

There's probably more reasons for hanging on to a console after you're done with it. I traded in my GBA when I got a DS. It made it a little cheaper, but in hindsight I wish I would've kept my GBA. If you really must sell a console, sell it directly to someone else. You could sell that PS2 for $10 more than the game store would give you and your friend could get it cheaper than what the store would charge him. Better deal. Donating it to a hospital is also a good idea. As I recall the guys at Penny Arcade have been doing something similar to this and it's been working well.

The question is specious at best

[WidescreenFreak]

There is a rule of thumb to which I strictly adhere: Nothing is obsolete until it no longer suits your purpose

When it comes to the question of trading in consoles, there is no blanket answer. Some people will say, "Yeah, I'll sell it for $90". Others will say, "Well, I'd rather give it to a friend or relative who would not be able to otherwise afford it, thus saving them $90 while giving me a feel-good moment." Which one is a better deal? More importantly, who am I to give an answer for your particular situation?

The problem with questions such as this is that worth is completely relative. Someone might see absolutely no value whatsoever in a product whereas someone else might put a huge value on it. Case-in-point, on eBay I sold a used optical drive with shrink-wrapped media of 1.2 GB each that I was given - trash interception, as it were. I expected it to go for maybe $50. That was my expected value based on my perception of this unit compared to the price of new DVD drives and blank media, which holds 3x as much as the opticals that I was selling. The drive sold for more than six times my percieved value after a bidding war ensued at the last moment. Obviously, someone else's value was completely different from mine.

In contrast, I've sold items that I thought were of a much higer value than the final price, but the highest bidder (and therefore everyone who bid less) thought otherwise.

So, the whole question of "Is it worth it?" is specious and subjective at best. The only person who can determine if a console (or any item) is worth trading in is the person in the mirror.